Floyd's Pelican Bar

My husband and I will be visiting CSA in November. I've been checking out Floyd's Pelican Bar on trip advisor and we're thinking about trying to make the trek during our stay. I'm looking for any and all advice about this. We're at CSA for 6 days and I don't want to spend a day travelling if it's not going to be worth it. We like our Red Stripe and a day of boozing somewhere unique is definitely our idea of fun. Please let me know if you've been there, how you got there, how much it costs, etc. Thanks Mon!

We have not made the trip to Floyd's from CSA yet but have thought about it on our last couple of visits. From what I have read (search the message board for Pelican Bar or Floyd's) it is an all day trip, most of it spent on the cab ride there and back. It sounds very cool and those that have made the trip said it was worth the time and money. It is truly an iconic destination, much more so than Rick's or Margaritaville in my opinion, and we hope to make the trip some day. I believe your best bet for transportation is by cab, there are no organized trips by CSA. You might want to try to coordinate your trip with some other folks that may be interested in going while you are at CSA. Split the cab fare and probably have more fun with another couple or two. Seems some one is always interested in making the pilgrimage to Floyd's.

We have been several times, and go every year. For us it is a must do. Many people want to combine their PB trip with another excursion. We don't. We like to hang at the PB for most of the day.

What follows is a description of our first trip I've cut and pasted from the many emails I've answered about the PB. The prices are a little higher now with the price of gasoline having gone up significantly.

It's about 2 hours down and two hours back. We make a whole day out of the Pelican Bar because it is so much fun. The sand bar is in about three feet of water, and we normally spend the entire day in the water. Definitely get the lunch there. Lobster and Fish are the only choices, but it is literally catch and cook. Does not get better, anywhere.

We use Rocky of Rocky's tours and Taxi. Rocky picked us up about 8AM at the lobby at CSA. We had five in our group. The ride takes about 1.5 hours. The distance isn't far but the roads are in poor shape. The drive however is VERY scenic, and I loved it.

Rocky does make the arrangements for the boat ride. He has a buddy named Basel that owns a small bar, and fishing business just outside of Black River. One of his guys will take you out in one of his fishing boats from the beach. That guy will hang out with you as long as you want at the PB.

Rocky asked us if we wanted lunch right after we left. You have two choices. Fish or Lobster. Rocky will then call in the lunch order by cell phone on the way down. The guys at the PB then go out and catch your lunch. It does not get any fresher than that. The lunch is really good. It takes a good ninety minutes to make it, but we found it especially tasty. They do a fruit/veggie rundown as a sauce and steamed rice with your meal and it was all good.

I guess you could go snorkeling. We hung out in the PB and waded in the water just outside and drank. We also spent a good while talking with the boat drivers and bar staff. The south coast of Jamaica is very laid back, and these guys were pretty happy just shooting the breeze with us.

Here is what we spent, but we lived very large at the PB. We spent $50.00 each with Rocky. $40 each went to Rocky, and he paid the Basel $10 a head for the boat ride. We tipped Rocky and the boat captain. At the PB we drank at least a million Redstripes between the five of us and ate four lobster meals and two fish meals between the five of us for Lunch. We paid the PB guys about $50.00 a head including the tip to clear out our " tab". I personally think they lost track of how much we drank. We certainly did lose track, and considering the food, and the fun we had I thought we got off very cheap. We were partying like rock stars out there. They were very happy and so were we. We were there three or four hours at least

After we got back on shore, we had a few beers at Basel's, and hung out with the locals there. Then we loaded up and stopped at a small bar for a few more about halfway in Whitehall. That also was a really cool experience that I really enjoyed.

One of he advantages of going with someone like Rocky, is that he knows everyone you'll be dealing with personally. He does steer you to his friends, but that also means you get warm smiles and an easy time every where he takes you. It seemed to me that he was well-liked every where we went.

Though it is not necessary, I do recommend that you change some money when going off the beaten path off resort. The best place to do this is actually at the resort. CSA had a fantastic exchange rate and will change up to $100 a day on a credit card. (Which is $8500.00 Jamaican) Transactions just went smoother, and seemed less expensive when using $J . Also, snacks and food at the airport on the way home seemed a lot cheaper as we were clearing out the last of our jamaican cash. We did pay Rocky in USD though.

I was the 5th person that Jeff mentions above. My wife wanted to stay at CSA and sit on the beach. We originally planned to hit the Appleton Rum tour, but we had soooo much fun at the Pelican Bar we all decieded to skip it.

Once I got back to CSA and told my wife about our adventure, she says "I wish I would have gone!!"

The food really is outstanding. They let you play with the lobster, take photos etc..... before they cook him up. I was expecting the food to just be thrown on the grill. It was grilled, but they make rice and peas, veggies and serve it all up on a plate.

There is a bar in the corner. I don't really think that they keep track of how much you drink. I would buy the boat drivers a beer or two and tell them to put it on our tab. I think it's pretty much a flat rate, if you eat and drink. I think that they had no idea how much we drank. We are all Red Stripe Pros!!!

Maybe check out the One Love Tour. They pick you up at the resort and you basically do a bar hop around Negril. I haven't done it myself, but it would be a fun boozey day and you won't have to go far to do it. Good luck deciding. CSA rocks!

My husband and I will be visiting CSA in November. I've been checking out Floyd's Pelican Bar on trip advisor and we're thinking about trying to make the trek during our stay. I'm looking for any and all advice about this. We're at CSA for 6 days and I don't want to spend a day travelling if it's not going to be worth it. We like our Red Stripe and a day of boozing somewhere unique is definitely our idea of fun. Please let me know if you've been there, how you got there, how much it costs, etc. Thanks Mon!

My husband and I will be at CSA in September and have booked a day off-site with Kingsley from Kingsley's Take Care Tours. We are going to go to Blue Hole Mineral Springs and then Floyd's. For the two of us, it is $130 for Kingsley to take us around all day. Blue Hole is $10/person and the boat to/from Floyd's is $20/person. Kingsley is taking care of everything and getting it all arranged - and has been extremely helpful via e-mail so far. I'll definitely post an update after we get back to let you know how it went...we can't wait!